US State Department: We Have Requested a Call with Lavrov

The US State Department announced that it has made a request to Russia for a phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated during a press conference on Thursday, "We expressed our interest and made it clear to Russia that we intend to conduct a phone call between Secretary Blinken and Minister Lavrov." He added, "Before the Secretary of State made his statement yesterday, we contacted the relevant Russian officials and requested to arrange the phone call. The Russian side confirmed receiving this request." Price noted that "the Russian minister is currently on a tour, and the US side does not have updated information about the call, but we will continue to discuss this through the relevant channels." He mentioned that Blinken wants to discuss with Lavrov the American "concern" regarding the Russian operation in Ukraine. The Russian foreign ministry had previously confirmed that Lavrov would consider the US request when his schedule allows.